Psalm 110 and verse 1. A Psalm of David. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power and the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning. You have the due of your youth. The Lord has sworn and will not relent. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand. He shall execute kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the nations. He shall fill the places with dead bodies. He shall execute the heads of many countries. He shall drink of the brook by the wayside. Therefore, he shall lift up the head. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever. Amen. Well, as we begin today, and as I mentioned briefly in my prayer, I want you to envision heaven. You might think of the vision in Isaiah 6 or even Ezekiel 1, but especially we think maybe of Revelation chapters 4 and 5. And of course, there we see God the Father seated on the throne. and Christ the Lamb at His right hand, and the Spirit there in front, and so on. Now, with this in mind, Psalm 110 is giving us, if you will, some background for that, leading us to that conclusion, to that understanding. Now, last time, we began this often-quoted psalm in the New Testament. We read five passages from the New Testament last week. We're going to read many more today. And so get ready to turn a lot here today. The emphasis here in Psalm 110 is not so much our duty, what we should do, but the emphasis is on what we should believe, how we should understand the person of Christ. And as we'll see today, the position of Christ. And so here we saw last week, this descendant of David, the son of David is also David's Lord and master. initially fulfilled in Solomon, but certainly much more so fulfilled in Christ. And so we looked then how the New Testament affirms that David wrote the Psalm, and David then meant something by it in his day. He wasn't just writing prophetically about the coming of the Messiah, but he was speaking for his day and his time. And so Solomon was his lord, at least for a few days and maybe a few weeks when David appointed Solomon as king. And yet, of course, we look for something greater. So David's son was David's Lord in that way. And most likely then, Psalm 110 was written in the final days of David's life. Now this typology, seen initially there, continued. And likely this psalm was sung and read and such each time a new son of David sat on the throne. But of course, the monarchy failed, and they went into exile, and it seemed like the promises to David were over. Yet, here in book five, Psalm 110 is given to us here, not in book one or book two, but here, to show that the Davidic promises are still in place, even after the exile. But there's some changes. because the monarchy is never reestablished. The Zerubbabel is there, but he is never established as king. And so God's promises to David in 2 Samuel 7 have always pointed to the Messiah. But Israel started looking even more so to that fulfillment after the exile. And so Jesus came. And of course, as we saw last time, he asked that question, how can David's son also be David's Lord? And Peter then boldly answers the question of Pentecost and says that Jesus of Nazareth is both the son of David and the Lord of David. He is God and master as well as the anointed Messiah descended from David. And so we too then. must understand this. We must believe this. We must accept this. If we do not understand this about the person of Christ, how then can we understand and accept the work of Christ? And so Jesus has a human nature without sin, but he also has a divine nature combined in one person, not part God and part man, or all man except for some divine spirit inside, or all God, he just looked like a man. No, no, no. He's 100% God, 100% man, something beyond our capacity to comprehend, but something we see here in the scriptures. And Psalm 110 helps us to see that. So as we transition now to the position of the Messiah, we come now to verse one and really the rest of verse one. We just started with the first line last time. So let's then read it here with my handout here from Psalm 110. And verse one says, an utterance of Yahweh to my master. And now the rest of it here. Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a stool for your feet. All right, so we talked about who is saying the utterance and to whom and so forth. Now let's look at the utterance itself. Yahweh is speaking to David's master, again, initially Solomon, ultimately Christ. And because of that, notice how I have capitalized the word master as well as the pronouns you and your there because of that ultimate fulfillment. But again, we've got to understand these words initially for Solomon. "'Sit at my right hand,' Yahweh says to Solomon." Yahweh commands Solomon to sit there until all these enemies are subjected under Solomon's feet. All right, now let's start looking at some passages. We're going to look at a lot of them here today. Let's turn back to 1 Kings 1. You recall that we looked at this one last week. All right, here's where Adonijah tries to become king. David's about to die, so one of the sons of David, Adonijah, says, hey, I'll be the next king, and yet that's not how it was supposed to be. And so Nathan and Bathsheba and others come to David and so on, and notice what he says here in verse 29. here in 1 Kings 1, the king took an oath and said, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, surely Solomon, your son, shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne and my place. So I certainly will do this day. So notice how God has established Solomon. It's not just David doing this. But God is the one who is establishing Solomon at David's right hand, you might say. and then replacing David, you could say. David's still king, and yet Solomon is assuming this master position. If you look down at verse 36. It continues here in this way, Benaiah responds, says, amen, may the Lord God of my Lord the King say so too. As the Lord has been with my Lord the King, even so may he be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my Lord King David. And then if you look down at verse 48, the King says, blessed be the Lord God of Israel who has given one to sit on my throne this day while my eyes see it. So we could, certainly read more here, but you see the point. Solomon has been chosen by God ultimately. This isn't just David's decision because he likes Solomon better than Adonijah or something. This is what God wanted. And so when it says, sit at my right hand, God is commanding Solomon ultimately to do this. And He did, okay? Not any of the other sons of David, but Solomon. Now, as for the language and imagery here to sit, hey, obviously this has an idea of authority, but it also has the idea of permanence. That point we'll bring out especially next time in verse four, but notice this idea of authority and permanence here with sitting. You could translate the word sit as dwell. Hey, dwell at my right hand, a more permanent idea. Now then we have the imagery here of the right hand. Now this actually communicates a variety of meanings, and I think all of them are intended here. It emphasizes position, obviously, the right hand. It emphasizes power. It emphasizes authority. It also emphasizes the ideas of favor and acceptance. It includes the ideas of honor and exaltation and just simply blessing in general. This person is blessed. Now, the left hand, on the other hand, is literally a lesser power, a lesser authority, a lesser favor. Sometimes it even means rejection. So you have the sheep on God's right, the goats on God's left, but it doesn't always mean rejection. It can mean a lesser authority. And so God says, sit at my right hand, greater authority, greater exaltation. Now, as I mentioned last time, some people think that David is referring to when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem here in Psalm 110. I don't agree with that, but I think we do need to see that the temple and the palace were positioned in certain ways so that the king was sitting at the right hand of God. They were in separate buildings, but nonetheless, things were arranged specifically. But our ultimate point here is not so much location and position in that sense. The ultimate point is that the human king now is under God, right? Solomon here initially is under God, God's authority. God is the king, and Solomon is just a vice regent, very closely connected to God, but nevertheless not God. initially. That's the whole point of typology. There's an initial point. There's a greater point in Christ, who is God, obviously. But, you know, all human kings are supposed to be at God's right hand. Paul tells us this in Romans chapter 13. Samuel tells us this in 1 Samuel 8. All human kings are under God, whether they realize it or not, whether they want it or not. In fact, most of them want to throw off that fetter, right? Psalm 2. They don't like that. They'd rather serve the dragon, Revelation chapter 13. But, in the end, all of them are to bow the knee to God because they are under His power and authority. All right, now, it says here, the last line, until I may make your enemies a stool for your feet. Notice who's doing this ultimately. It's not Solomon. It's God. God is the one who is making these enemies under His feet. Now, this is a common image that we see throughout the ancient world, actually, and we see it here in the scriptures. Let's turn a moment to Joshua chapter 10, and here we see the image given for us. This is when Joshua is fighting against some of these different kings. And in chapter 10, Joshua 10, note especially verse 24, Joshua 10 verse 24. And so it was when they brought out those kings to Joshua that Joshua called for all the men of Israel and said to the captains and the men of war who went with him, come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings. And they drew near and put their feet on their necks." And you can keep reading and so on. But here's the image, the idea of authority, the idea of conquering. And so these kings are the disgraced foe, and Israel, of course, is the victorious conqueror. The idea of absolute control can be a part of this, and certainly when we apply this to Christ, that is true. So, notice then, sit in this permanent kind of way until all these enemies are put under your feet. Now, that doesn't mean you will quit ruling at that point, and it doesn't just mean, oh, it's going to happen someday way down the road, but there's some initial fulfillment even for Christ. even though we're waiting for His return. All right, now let's bring in verse 2, which says, "'The rod of your strength Yahweh will send from Zion.'" And then note another command here, "'Have dominion in the midst of your enemies.'" All right, so Yahweh here has given power to the king. And note, to rule from Zion. Obviously, we see the connections then to Psalm 2. Now, let's turn there just a moment. I'm so hardly, barely scratching the surface here on all of the things that I'm saying today. We could spend a whole sermon just connecting Psalm 2 and Psalm 110. But let me just briefly make this connection. Note Psalm 2 and verse 6, "'Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion.'" Okay? Sat at my right hand, you could say. And then look at verse 9, you shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. So, you see again this idea, this rod, this scepter going out from Zion, conquering the enemies. As I mentioned last time, Psalm 2 was very likely written right about the time David was established in Jerusalem. Psalm 110, I would agree with those who say he probably wrote it at the end of his life. But note some of the same themes. Once again, these words are fulfilled initially with Solomon. And let's look here at some of that. Let's turn then to 1 Kings again, this time chapter 2. 1 Kings chapter 2. give some instructions to Solomon before he dies. Again, I encourage you to read all this here. Let me just highlight a few things together. If you look at verse 5 here in chapter 2, David gives Solomon instructions to kill Joab. David doesn't kill Joab, and we might argue that maybe he should have, but he didn't, and he now tells Solomon to do it. There are verses 5 and 6, because Joab killed innocent men. Verse 7, he says, you know, be kind to Barzillai. But then in verse 8, he says Shammai. Remember, this was the guy that cursed David when he left the city when Absalom tried to take over. And there, he specifically promised Shammai that he would not harm him. And yet, now he's telling Solomon, you need to execute justice. Your rod must go out from Zion in this way. and have dominion." When David dies there, you see verses 10 to 12, and then Adonijah tries again, okay? Not only do we see it in chapter 1, but now here, and here he goes to Bathsheba, and he says, hey, you know, can you make it work out so, you know, verse 17, I could have Abishag the Shunammite as wife? And by doing this, he's basically claiming the throne. Well, for some reason Bathsheba says, well, okay, and she goes and talks to Solomon, her son, and Solomon's like, why don't you just give him the throne? And you can see that in verses 19 and following, especially here in chapter two. But then note verse 24 specifically. Now, therefore, as the Lord lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father," right, God's the one doing this, and who has established a house for me as He promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today. Now, remember, this is Solomon's brother, okay, half-brother, but it's his brother. But this isn't because Solomon is just, you know, mean or whatever. Adonijah is the seed of the serpent. Solomon is the seed of the woman. And so the seat of the serpent must be put to death, and Solomon does. He is putting the enemies under his feet. The rod of his strength, the dominion is going out of Zion in this way. So if you look then in verses 26 and following, we see more of this. Note especially, we see then in verse 31, It says, the king says, strike him down, bury him, and so forth. And so, Joab is put to death. Then if you look at verses 44 and 45, we see specifically, the king says to Shammai, right, all this wickedness, you'll be put to death, and he is, verse 46. This may seem kind of cruel to us, but again, this is justice. the death penalty, you might say. Then if you look at chapter 4, and this is more general, we just talked about some specific people, but if you look at verses 21 and following in chapter 4, note it says, verse 21, so Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the river, that's the Euphrates River now, to the land of the Philistines as far as the border of Egypt. He brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life, and you see that in verses 22 and 23. Verse 24, "'For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the river, from Tifsa even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the river, and he had peace on every side all around him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba all the days of Solomon.' The rod of his strength went out from Zion." Right? In all these different places. He had dominion over his enemies so that Israel could have peace and prosperity. Then if you look at chapter 5. Here now, Solomon is ready to build the temple, and he sends this word to Hiram, king of Tyre, and know what he says in verses three and four. You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side until the Lord put his foes under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor evil occurrence. These commands that God gave to Solomon in Psalm 110, verses 1 and 2, have been obeyed. God is the one, right, who is making the enemies of Solomon under His feet. God is the one doing it. And He did. There is this initial fulfillment. All right, now let's bring in verse 3 from Psalm 110. And notice how I've translated it here. Your people will be voluntary gifts in the day of your power and the splendor of holiness from the womb of the dawn, belonging to you, the due of your youths. All right. There are all kinds of questions about this verse. In fact, some commentators say this is the hardest verse to understand in all the Psalms. Maybe, it's certainly one of them. Notice here briefly, we start with the subject, your people, and then there's a noun following it, voluntary gifts. So we have to assume a verb here. There's no verb in the sentence. And then the next four lines are all prepositional phrases. There are so many questions here, I'm not gonna get into it at all, really. Some people will change the text. Your translation may have a footnote or two or four. here trying to help us to understand. The overall point seems to be this. Solomon's servants are going to volunteer for him, to serve him as he rules in splendor and holiness. When the sun rises and there's dew on the morning grass, there's much blessing, there's vigor, there's strength. It's numerous, right? There are literally billions of droplets of dew in the grass in just a small area. And so as God gives the dew, God's going to give these volunteers. There's going to be a bunch of them, and they're going to serve Solomon. And certainly this was true when Solomon was younger. Okay? He was wise. He was holy. He was splendorous, you might say. He built the temple, and there was a lot of volunteer help. We started reading about that in 1 Kings 5 with Hyrum, and he sent all kinds of things for the temple. If you look at 1 Kings 9 here a moment, It continues with lots of things that he did. In verse 22, for example, it says, but of the children of Israel, Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants, his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots and his cavalry. At least initially, Solomon had a bunch of volunteers, you might say. Now later, he became more oppressive, and especially as he transitioned to Rehoboam. If you look also at chapter 10, here in 1 Kings, verses 14 to the end is a lengthy description of all these things that Solomon did and his wealth and so forth. And note especially verse 24, it says, It's connected to verse 3 here of Psalm 110. And so we have these volunteers coming to serve, and there is lots of strength and vigor to fight, to build, and so on. Now, one additional thing to mention just briefly, we can connect verse 3 to Psalm 2. The very last word, youths, note it's plural, connects with Psalm 2 verse 7. It's just slightly different in the Hebrew. In Psalm 2 verse 7, we translate it as begotten. Here, we translate it as youths. There's a connection there. Again, we could talk about many more here of those two Psalms. But are you getting the sense here, right? This is fulfilled in Solomon initially, and you can see it in these ways, and I can point out more things, but here then we get a taste of it. But like all typology, there is initial fulfillment, but it's only partial. Sometimes it's just a little bit. Sometimes it's quite a bit. but it's just partial. It's not complete. So you look for more. Solomon dies. Even here in chapter 11, right? He turns away from the Lord. He's got all these wives and builds idols for them and so on and so forth. So even before Solomon's dead, you're like, well, wait a second here. Psalm 110 was fulfilled in Solomon, but it can't be all that we're talking about. And so you keep looking. You look for something more. The youthful vigor waned. The volunteers actually really turned against Solomon by the time Rehoboam comes around. Now we see some hope in Asa and Hezekiah and Josiah and so forth, right? But remember, Psalm 110 is put here in Book 5, and so now we're after the exile. But even there, there's no king sitting on the throne. No one's sitting at God's right hand. So they keep looking. And after the exile, now that the Davidic promises have changed so much for them, at least in reality for them, they're looking even more so for the coming of the Messiah in a way that they hadn't looked before that. And so, ultimately, of course, for all the connections with Solomon, we've got to see the connections with Christ. And as we talked about last week, He is the son of David, and he is David's Lord and master. We looked at some passages there. Now, let's make some connections with what we've looked at so far here today. And there are many. So let's look at these. I think it would be, let's turn to Matthew 26. And as you're turning there, I just think it's helpful for us to hear all of them. kind of overwhelm you with the importance of Psalm 110 and how the New Testament says, look, we've got to believe these things about Jesus. So let's start here in Matthew 26. And you look there toward the end of the chapter, Jesus is arrested, and he's before the Sanhedrin. And they ask him, the end of verse 63, tell us if you're the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said to him, it is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven. So right, tear the clothes, hey, blasphemy, he says he's God, let's put him to death. All right, now, we don't have time to do all this. I haven't taken the time to do this, but we could turn to Daniel 7 and see a whole sermon just on connections with Psalm 110 and Daniel 7. The words of Jesus here are really a combination of Psalm 110 and Daniel 7. And He says, right, I'm seated at the right hand of God. I am the Son of David. I am the Son of God, God and man. And they understood that. They understood what He meant. That's why they wanted to put Him to death, because He said He was God. Let's turn then to chapter 28 here in Matthew. And the last words here in this gospel verse 18. You notice our second hymn was based on this verse. All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Right? The rod is going out from Zion, the heavenly Zion ultimately. So go therefore and make disciples of all nations. You see the volunteers now have this job to do to serve their King, King Jesus. The connections are in this way. The rod is no longer a rod with a sword, but the rod is with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, the gospel message. This is what goes forth from Zion here now. We are Zion, right? We are the church. We are Israel. The rod goes forth from here. We are volunteers under the authority of Christ serving Him. We could do a whole sermon or several just on this idea, right? Let's turn now to the parallel passage in Mark, chapter 14. Now, it's parallel, so a lot of the same ideas I just said, but notice these are actually different enough to be very, very helpful. In chapter 14, and you'll see they ask him the question in verse 61, are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? Jesus said, I am, right? Yahweh, I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven." So again, Daniel 7, Psalm 110 put together there. Now let's turn to chapter 16, and here is Mark's account of the Great Commission. Verses 15 and following, same basic ideas that I just said, okay? But note also then verse 19, so that after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and sat down. at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, right? These volunteers doing what their master is telling them to do. And so God is on His throne, Christ is at His right hand, and we must obey Him here in this way. Let's turn then to Luke's account, chapter 22. Again, very similar, but note there are some differences here. Put them all together and you get a fuller understanding. Luke 22, again here at the end of the chapter, and notice verse 67, "'If you are the Christ, tell us.' But He said to them, "'If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer me or let me go. Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.'" And they all said, are you then the Son of God? He said to them, you rightly say that I am. Psalm 110 applies to Solomon. But how much more does it apply to Christ? Solomon is not God, and that's quite abundant. But Jesus is. And that is what we must believe. He is the Messiah. the Son of David, but He is the Master, the Son of God. Let's turn now to Acts 1. We see some of this at the end of Luke, but let me have us look at this passage in Acts 1. It's just brief here, verse 9. And when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Now we know that He then sits down in the right hand of the Father, okay? But you see then, Psalm 110 verse 1 is really talking about the ascension of Christ and His exaltation and glorification. So in chapter 2 then, Peter is at Pentecost. We read verses 34 and 35, but focused on verse 36. Let's focus on what comes before it now. here today. In Acts 2, Peter quotes from Psalm 16 and applies that to Jesus. Okay, let's start at verse 29. "'Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. He foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens. Hey, nor did Solomon. But he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. You see how this is emphasizing the ascension of Christ. But he starts first with the death of Christ, and then the resurrection of Christ, and then the ascension of Christ, and the exaltation of Christ. You see how Peter's putting all this together. Psalm 110 finds its fulfillment in Christ in His resurrection, His ascension, and His exaltation. This is what we must believe. We can't just believe that Jesus came and was born of a baby, God and man. We have to believe that, but there's more to that. We can't just say, well, He died on the cross for my sins. He did that, but He also rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and He is seated at God's right hand. That's what Psalm 110 is emphasizing here in these verses. All right, let's keep going. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, what's Paul talking about? The death and resurrection of Christ. This really happened. I saw him, he says, basically. And so beginning in verse 24. He says this as well, "'Then comes the end when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He put an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death, for He has put all things under His feet. But when He says all things are put under Him, it is evident that He who put all things under Him is accepted.'" Right? Now, when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him, who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." Right? If Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father, then the Father is greater than the Son, right? Not ultimately, but certainly in the work of redemption. Solomon was clearly under God. So too is Jesus, but we don't believe in what's called the eternal subordination of the Son, okay? There is an eternal equality of the Father and the Son, but there is a difference in their role and their function, and that's what is emphasized here. But again, you see how all this takes us back to Psalm 110. Let's turn now to Ephesians 1. Ephesians chapter 1, the end of the chapter, let's start a reading in verse 20, he's talking about the power of God here, and then verse 20, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Again, I could do a whole sermon or many on each one of these passages, but do you see the connection here again? The death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the ascension and exaltation of Christ, it's all there again. But, you know, it's not just, well, okay, Jesus did these things, but there are practical implications of each one of them. And let me show you one of them here. In Ephesians 2, right, we are dead in our sins, we are raised to new life, and so then let's pick up in verse 6, and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We're at the right hand of God, too. Now, we're under Christ. We're those willing volunteers made willing by His grace. Okay? So verse 7, that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, right? These volunteers created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You see, this isn't just, well, Jesus did it and He went back and, okay, you know, whatever. But do you see how we're connected? We're united to Christ here in this. We too are seated at God's right hand in Christ. Let's turn now to Colossians chapter 3. In case you think this is just all heady stuff, you know, up there in the clouds and so forth. Paul says, well, yeah, it is. Colossians 3 verse 1, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Okay? Now, we can't be so heavenly minded, we're no earthly good, right? But we do have to have our focus where Jesus is. seated at the right hand of the Father, Paul says. Note some of the practical implications. Let's turn then to 1 Peter chapter 3. I told you there's a whole bunch here. We're getting there. 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 21. 1 Peter 3 verse 21, there is also an antitype which now saves us, baptism, not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to him. You hear Psalm 110 behind that. It's not a quotation, but it's a clear allusion to it. Note again, resurrection, ascension, Okay, glorification. Let's turn then to Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1. Now you recall from last week we looked at verse 13 in connection with the angels. Let's start in verse 1. Hebrews 1, And in verse 1 it says, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past by the fathers to the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds. Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." Remember, I said that the language of the right hand includes the idea of honor, exaltation, being lifted up, praised. Clearly, that's what we see here. Let's then turn to chapter 2. Now I've said we could spend a whole sermon talking about Psalm 2 and Psalm 110, how they go together. I said that about Daniel 7 and Psalm 110. We could also do it with Psalm 8. So Hebrews 2 verse 5, for He has not put the world to come, of which we speak in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying, This is Psalm 8 now. What is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands and have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him. He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who is made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone." So again, you see the idea of death, the assumption of resurrection, and then, of course, exaltation, even here as we connect with Psalm 8. Let's turn then to chapter 8. We're getting there. Hang in there. But again, are you feeling the overwhelming message here of the New Testament about these ideas? Hebrews 8 verse 1, now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected and not man. So we see again this allusion. Let's turn now to chapter 10. And now, maybe most clearly here in the book of Hebrews, we see that the author of the Hebrews is bringing in another idea here of seated. Not just seated in authority and power, not just exaltation and such, but note then this. Verse 11 of Hebrews 10. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till his enemies are made his footstool, for by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." Do you see the additional idea here? The sitting at the right hand of God means my work's done. Jesus' work is finished. Yeah, He's going to come back and He's going to wrap everything up, but it's in essence done. Our sins are forgiven. We don't have to do any more. We don't have to offer the Mass every moment of every day around the world. We don't have to add to the work of Christ. His work is done. He is seated, not just showing authority, not just showing exaltation, but showing completion, permanence, as I mentioned earlier. One more here in Hebrews chapter 12. Very familiar verse to us here in verse 1. Hebrews 12 verse 1, therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. I said we're just scratching the surface here today. There are so many practical implications of all of this idea from Psalm 110. Here's another one. We're the willing volunteers. Let us persevere as our eyes are fixed on Jesus. All right, let's come back to Romans 8. Okay, almost done. Romans 8, another very familiar passage here to us in verse 34. Romans 8, verse 34, who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. We cannot be separated from the love of God because Jesus died and rose and ascended and sits at God's right hand. This is our encouragement. Do you see how relevant this is? He's praying for us. We prayed together a little bit ago. He took those prayers, my filthy, stinky prayers, and he perfected them. He brought them to the Father. Alright, we could look at chapter 12 and broad allusions to being willing volunteers and so forth. Let's turn here to Acts chapter 5. Acts chapter 5. Now, this is when Peter and John had been arrested, and they were before the Sanhedrin. This is the time where Gamaliel speaks. And in chapter 5, beginning of verse 29, Peter speaks, he says, but Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him, God has exalted to his right hand to be prince and savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are as witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. Again, you see death, resurrection, ascension, right? You see all that again. You know, sometimes some of you will tell me I'm too political. You know, Psalm 110 says we've got to apply these things to every area of life, and Peter and John do that. When we are standing before a magistrate who tells us to do something that is against God's word, we've got to obey God, not man. That's not political. That's applying God's Word in every area of life. You see how the ascension and exaltation of Christ impacts our daily living here in this way. All right, now lastly, let's turn to the book of Revelation. We'll look at two passages here briefly. First of all, chapter 12. Revelation 12. All right, there's this sign in heaven, the woman giving birth and so on. Verse three, another sign. Here it says, a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns and seven diadems on his heads. His tail threw a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her child as soon as it was born. She bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and his throne. Now, is that quoting Psalm 110? No, but it certainly reminds us of it, doesn't it? Okay. You see how he is given this rod out of Zion to conquer all enemies. He was caught up to the throne. The death and resurrection part aren't mentioned here, but certainly we assume it and go to the ascension. The rest of the chapter is how the dragon is trying to attack the willing volunteers. And in chapter 13, He uses the false state and the false church to do it. Let's turn then to Revelation 7, and let's end with this here today. In Revelation 7, beginning of verse 9. After these things, I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. Right, who's at the right hand of the Father. Clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. All the angels stood around the throne, and the elders and the four living creatures fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. saying, "'Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.' Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "'Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where do they come from?' I said to him, "'Sir, you know.' So he said to me, "'These are the ones who come out of the Great Tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'" These willing volunteers. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And he who sits on the throne will dwell among them. It shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them nor any heat. For the lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. What is the significance? Well, here's your significance. We get to be in heaven with him. Because of the death of Christ, because he is the lamb of God, because he was raised from the dead, he was raised from the dead because he lived a life of perfection, because he ascended into the heaven, and he is seated at the right hand of God, we have salvation, we have blessings now, and we have blessings forever. This is most practical. But again, you see, it's not so much, okay, well, I need to do this in my life and, you know, that kind of practical how-to stuff, but you see how it impacts everything. Once again, I thought it would be helpful for us here today to be, if you will, overwhelmed by the connections to Psalm 110. They're everywhere. This is so important for us not only to understand, but to believe, to accept, and then to live by. And so here then are a few things. As we look, I've done many, but we could do more. I've given you most all the passages, but we certainly could say more. So with all this in mind then, remember we're not done yet. We have Psalm 110, verses four to seven. And so Lord willing, next time we'll look at verse four and how this king sitting at God's right hand is also our priest. So let's pray together. Our Father and our God, we thank you again for your word. We thank you for its richness. We thank you for revealing these things to us. We thank you for It's your great grace in this way. We thank you and praise you, our Lord Jesus, that you, as the Son of God, set aside all the glory that you deserve. You came to earth taking on humanity, a human nature, yet without sin. And in your life of perfection, you kept every aspect of God's word in our place. We must do it, but we cannot, and you've done it for us. And then you took the judgment that we deserve for our sin. And we praise you, our Lord Jesus, that in your perfection, you could not stay dead, but you were raised again on the third day, showing the acceptance by the Father showing your perfection, you ascended into heaven, and you sat down at the right hand of the Father, showing that everything that you said and did is what you said it would be. And so we praise you, our Lord, that you, as the Son of God, are also the Son of David. We praise you, our Lord, that you rule now, that your rod goes forth from the heavenly Zion, And enemies have been conquered and more are sure to be conquered. And we certainly yearn for that day. Lord, may all this be clear in our minds and our understanding that it would drive our faith, our trust, our belief in you. But may it also then equip us and enable us to live a life of holiness and godliness as your willing volunteers, serving you, our king and our priest. We pray, Lord, that you would enable us now, but Lord, we pray that you will come soon, and that we will be ushered in, not just seated at your throne at the right hand of the Father in our union, but then also in its fullness, seated with those 24 elders surrounding your throne, worshiping you, serving you, praising You. Lord, we pray that that day would come soon. Prepare us for it, and just pray that You would be honored in it all. And so we pray all these things then in Jesus' name. Amen.